S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10602
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               June 20, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced   by   COMMITTEE  ON  RULES  --  (at  request  of  M.  of  A.
   Pheffer Amato) -- read once and referred to the Committee  on  Govern-
   mental Employees
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the general municipal law, in relation to disabilities
   of fire alarm dispatchers in certain cities
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The  general  municipal  law  is  amended by adding a new
 section 207-r to read as follows:
   § 207-R. DISABILITIES OF FIRE ALARM  DISPATCHERS  IN  CERTAIN  CITIES.
 NOTWITHSTANDING  THE  PROVISIONS OF ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL OR LOCAL LAW OR
 ADMINISTRATIVE CODE TO THE CONTRARY, EXCEPT  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF  THE
 WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW AND THE LABOR LAW, ANY CONDITION OF IMPAIRMENT
 OF HEALTH CAUSED BY DISEASES OF THE HEART, RESULTING IN TOTAL OR PARTIAL
 DISABILITY OR DEATH TO A FIRE ALARM DISPATCHER, A SUPERVISING FIRE ALARM
 DISPATCHER LEVEL ONE OR A SUPERVISING FIRE ALARM DISPATCHER LEVEL TWO OF
 A FIRE DEPARTMENT IN A CITY WITH A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE, OR
 ANY  RETIRED  MEMBER OF SUCH DEPARTMENT WHO HAS BEEN RETIRED FOR FIVE OR
 LESS YEARS, WHO SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A PHYSICAL EXAMINATION ON ENTRY INTO
 THE SERVICE OF SUCH DEPARTMENT, WHICH EXAMINATION FAILED TO  REVEAL  ANY
 EVIDENCE  OF  SUCH  CONDITION, SHALL BE PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE THAT IT WAS
 INCURRED IN THE PERFORMANCE AND DISCHARGE OF DUTY, UNLESS  THE  CONTRARY
 BE PROVED BY COMPETENT EVIDENCE.
   §   2.  All  past  service  costs  associated  with  implementing  the
 provisions of this act shall be borne by the city of New York.
   § 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,  none
 of  the  provisions  of  this  act shall be subject to the appropriation
 requirement of section 25 of the retirement and social security law.
   § 4.  This act shall take effect immediately.
   FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
   SUMMARY: This proposed legislation would provide Fire Alarm  Dispatch-
 ers of the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) a rebutt-
 able statutory presumption that a qualifying partial or total disability
 or  death  related to a heart disease was incurred in the performance of
 duty.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10279-03-4
 A. 10602                            2
 
       ILLUSTRATION - INCREASE (DECREASE) IN EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS
          by Fiscal Year for the first 25 years ($ in Thousands)
 
                   One Incident                One Incident Per Year
 Year           Disability   Death             Disability    Death
 2025           30           39                30            39
 2026           30           39                62            79
 2027           30           39                94            120
 2028           30           39                127           163
 2029           30           39                161           207
 2030           30           39                196           252
 2031           30           39                233           298
 2032           30           39                270           346
 2033           30           39                309           395
 2034           30           39                348           446
 2035           30           39                389           498
 2036           30           39                431           552
 2037           30           39                474           608
 2038           30           39                519           665
 2039           0            0                 535           685
 2040           0            0                 551           705
 2041           0            0                 567           727
 2042           0            0                 584           748
 2043           0            0                 602           771
 2044           0            0                 620           794
 2045           0            0                 638           818
 2046           0            0                 657           842
 2047           0            0                 677           868
 2048           0            0                 697           894
 2049           0            0                 718           921
     Disability costs shown are for members with less than 10 years of
                                 service.
    Employer contribution impact beyond Fiscal Year 2049 is not shown.
 The potential increases in employer contributions will be allocated to
 New York City.
 
           EXPECTED INCREASE (DECREASE) IN ACTUARIAL LIABILITIES
                   as of June 30, 2023 ($ in Thousands)
      Present Value (PV)             Per Disability  Per Death
      PV of Benefits:                257             329
      PV of Employee Contributions:  0               0
      PV of Employer Contributions:  257             329
      Unfunded Accrued Liabilities:  257             329
 
                AMORTIZATION OF UNFUNDED ACCRUED LIABILITY
 Recognized as Ongoing Gain/Loss    Per Disability     Per Death
 Number of Payments:                14                 14
 Amortization Payment:              30 K               39 K
 
   CENSUS DATA: The number of members who will benefit in the future from
 this fiscal note is unknown. The estimates presented herein are based on
 preliminary  census  data collected as of June 30, 2023. The census data
 for the potentially impacted population  used  to  develop  the  average
 costs is summarized below.
 
                                    Disability*    Death
 A. 10602                            3
 
      Active Members
      - Number Count:               76             187
      - Average Age:                34.0           41.0
      - Average Service:            5.0            12.2
      - Average Salary:             69,300         82,900
      * Members with less than 10 years of service
 
   IMPACT  ON  MEMBER BENEFITS: Under the proposed legislation, an active
 member, or retiree (within five years  of  their  respective  retirement
 date)  of  NYCERS who is employed as a Fire Alarm Dispatcher and becomes
 disabled or dies due to heart disease would be eligible for  a  perform-
 ance of duty disability or death benefit.
   Currently,  an active member of NYCERS who is employed as a Fire Alarm
 Dispatcher and becomes disabled due to heart disease would  be  eligible
 for  an applicable ordinary disability retirement benefit, after attain-
 ing 10 years of credited service. Members with less  than  10  years  of
 service  may be eligible for a performance of duty disability benefit if
 current eligibility requirements are satisfied.
   The disability benefit is generally a lifetime payment  equal  to  the
 greatest  of  1/3  of Final Average Salary (FAS), 1/60th of FAS for each
 year of service, or the service retirement benefit, if eligible.
   The ordinary death benefit for Tier 4 and Tier  6  NYCERS  Fire  Alarm
 Dispatchers  is  generally  a  lump sum payment equal to three times the
 member's salary.  The performance of duty  death  benefit  is  generally
 equal to a lifetime benefit of 50% of a member's wages earned during the
 last year of service, payable to certain beneficiaries.
   ASSUMPTIONS  AND  METHODS:  The  estimates  presented herein have been
 calculated based on the Revised 2021 Actuarial Assumptions  and  Methods
 of the impacted retirement systems.
   The  number  of  members and eligible retirees who will benefit in the
 future from this fiscal note is  unknown.  The  cost  of  this  proposed
 legislation could vary greatly depending on the number of future members
 who benefit and on their length of service, age, and salary history.
   RISK  AND  UNCERTAINTY: The costs presented in this Fiscal Note depend
 highly on the actuarial assumptions, methods,  and  models  used,  demo-
 graphics  of  the impacted population, and other factors such as invest-
 ment, contribution, and other risks. If actual experience deviates  from
 actuarial   assumptions,  the  actual  costs  could  differ  from  those
 presented herein. Quantifying these risks is beyond the  scope  of  this
 Fiscal Note.
   This  Fiscal  Note  is intended to measure pension-related impacts and
 does not include other potential costs (e.g., administrative  and  Other
 Postemployment Benefits).
   STATEMENT OF ACTUARIAL OPINION: Marek Tyszkiewicz and Gregory Zelikov-
 sky  are members of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of
 Actuaries. We are members of NYCERS but do not believe  it  impairs  our
 objectivity  and  we  meet  the  Qualification Standards of the American
 Academy of Actuaries to render the actuarial opinion  contained  herein.
 To  the  best  of  our knowledge, the results contained herein have been
 prepared in accordance with generally accepted actuarial principles  and
 procedures  and  with  the Actuarial Standards of Practice issued by the
 Actuarial Standards Board.
   FISCAL NOTE IDENTIFICATION: This Fiscal Note  2024-63  dated  May  17,
 2024  was prepared by the Chief Actuary for the New York City Retirement
 Systems and Pension Funds. This estimate is intended for use only during
 the 2024 Legislative Session.